I-Corps: Antimicrobial polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe to reduce biofouling in hydroponic farming

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种抗菌聚氯乙烯（PVC）管，可以抑制农业细菌的生物污垢。 目前，聚氯乙烯（PVC）是用于管道和营养床的主要材料，这要归功于其成本低廉和耐环境性。然而，农场必须定期拆卸和清洁PVC组件或完全更换它们，因为定期使用杀菌剂并不能防止生物污垢。 目标是减少微/滴灌和水培农场所需的清洁和维护，节省成本，提高生产力。细菌能够在大多数塑料表面上生长，因为很少有批准的抗菌替代品。 这项技术旨在将抗菌材料嵌入PVC中，这些材料可安全用于农业，每年可为美国农民节省大量时间和金钱。这个I-Corps项目的基础是开发一种可用作广谱抗菌剂的氧化铋纳米材料。 我们的目标是通过嵌入氧化铋纳米材料或将其用作农业应用的涂层来处理PVC管道。 虽然抗微生物表面处理的PVC管是可用的，但高成本阻止了广泛采用，并且FDA、EPA或州实体目前还没有批准抗微生物PVC材料用于食品生产。铋与其他抗菌金属如汞、铅和镉等不同，已知对哺乳动物细胞无毒，可以安全地以克级量摄入。对所提出的纳米材料的测试表明，纳米结构的氧化铋被发现是一种广谱抗菌剂，如其最低抑菌浓度所示，其范围为0.75 μg/mL至2.5 μg/mL，取决于所测试的细菌。 此外，还发现对耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）衍生的生物膜的强生长抑制作用。 拟议的技术可能在农业环境中显示出类似的功效，因为氧化铋纳米材料不限于像大多数抗生素那样针对细菌特异性蛋白质。 此外，氧化铋纳米材料的行为与任何常规抗生素不同，因为它们不会像常规抗生素那样引发耐药性的快速发展。 缺乏可用的和农业批准的抗菌聚合物提出了一个目前未满足的需求，和使用新的抗菌材料嵌入到PVC可以节省美国农民显着的时间和金钱。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a antimicrobial polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe that can inhibit biofouling by bacteria for the agriculture industry. Currently, polyvinylchloride (PVC) is the predominant material used for tubing and nutrient beds thanks to its cheap cost and environmental resistance. However, farms must either regularly dissemble and clean PVC components or replace them altogether, since the regular use of biocides does not prevent biofouling. The goal is to reduce the cleaning and maintenance required in micro/drip irrigation and hydroponic farms, saving costs, and improving productivity. Bacteria are able to grow on most plastic surfaces as there are few approved antimicrobial alternatives. The proposed technology is designed to include antimicrobial materials embedded into PVC that are safe for use in agriculture and could save US farmers significant time and money every year. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a bismuth oxide nanomaterial that may be used as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent. The goal is to treat PVC pipe by embedding the bismuth oxide nanomaterial or using it as a coating for use in agricultural applications. Although antimicrobial surface treated PVC tubing is available, the high cost has prevented widespread adoption and no antimicrobial PVC materials are currently approved for food production by the FDA, EPA, or state entities. Bismuth, unlike other antimicrobial metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium and many others, is known to be nontoxic to mammalian cells, and may be safely ingested at gram-scale quantities. Tests of the proposed nanomaterial showed that nanostructured bismuth oxide was found to be a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent as shown by its minimum inhibitory concentration, which ranges from 0.75 μg/mL to 2.5 μg/mL, depending on the bacteria tested. In addition, a strong growth inhibitory effect also was found on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) derived biofilms. The proposed technology may show similar efficacy in agricultural settings since bismuth oxide nanomaterials are not limited to targeting bacteria-specific proteins like most antibiotics. Also, bismuth oxide nanomaterials do not behave like any conventional antibiotics in that they do not trigger the rapid development of drug resistance like the conventional antibiotics. The lack of available and agriculture approved antimicrobial polymers presents a current unmet need, and use of new antimicrobial materials embedded into PVC may save US farmers significant time and money.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.